The relief of the sanctions imposed by the United States once morest the Venezuelan government is linked to “concrete steps” by Nicolás Maduro, said Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser this Sunday.
“Any sanctions relief we provide needs to be linked to concrete steps taken by Maduro and the people around him,” Sullivan told NBC television’s Meet the Press, when asked regarding commitments to Venezuela that might help put additional oil on the US market, outlined Bloomberg.
The United States has floated the idea of negotiating directly with Maduro, as he seeks to increase oil production and distance Russia of his allies, although he clarified Thursday that the import of Venezuelan oil is not currently an active conversation. The United States has not formally recognized Maduro’s government since 2019, when it threw its support behind opposition leader Juan Guaidó, calling him a legitimate interim leader.
“What resulted from the trip of US officials to Venezuela last week was the release of two US citizens who are now home reunited with their families,” Sullivan said. “There are more US citizens still in Venezuela, unfortunately, we are working day and night to try to get them out.”
With information from Bloomberg.
